


Iruna Online VRMMORPG

by SylverDrawer



Category: Iruna Online, Original Work, Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/M, I also try to describe the pain a lot to beware, Iruna Online - Freeform, Rewrite, Role-Playing Game, Slow Romance, Sword Art Online - Freeform, Virtual Reality, basically a rewrite of an older fanfiction I made, but better, literally a character insert from an old game I played with SAO’s concept, romance at some point but not anytime soon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22550680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SylverDrawer/pseuds/SylverDrawer
Summary: Six years have passed since Seiya last ventured into the world of Iruna online.When she finds out about the game's transition from mobile to a Virtual Reality MMO, she takes it up again along with her cousin.Little does she know, her luck might as well have ran out as she finds herself, and her companions, locked in the game unable to find their way back to the real world.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. This Is Where We Begin

**Author's Note:**

> This was literally a spur of the moment story because I read an old fanfiction of mine was was like, ”You know what, why the heck not?“. So. I ended up writing the prologue all night and it eventually added up to 10k words. This was just to see how much I’ve improved in writing in the past five years. So now here I am, expanding my old story while also changing the plot so it flows better. More pain, and more suffering (for both my and the characters haH-)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seiya dives into VRMMO Iruna for the first time, and realizes what a noob she is at full dive games. Things only get worse from there.

The game chip in my hand, I took a heavy gulp of air.

It's been six years since I've laid eyes upon this game. Iruna Online, a game I began to play when I was thirteen. At the time, it was only out on mobile devices, but it was very popular.

Original lease in Japan, it came to America later on. Because of its previous release before being spread worldwide, we were lucky and were given a lot of tips and help from previous players. By the time I began playing, it already had more than three million downloads worldwide.

Those days were one of the happiest times of my life. The golden days of Iruna. At the time, it was a very kind and active community. Servers were nearly full (especially Specia, explicitly used for trading mostly), higher level players commonly leveling newbies for free, supportive and lively guilds—everything was perfect.

However, I left Iruna when it began to change. After five years of playing, I noticed many changes. Many players in the community left, most of the remaining high-levels scamming oblivious and naive players for millions of Spina. The game itself had integrated a system where there was a global trade on islands, but that had commonly been abused. Eventually, around 90% of the game revolved around Spina, the currency of Iruna.

It was no longer the Iruna me and my cousins knew and loved. So I left.

Which was why I was surprised seeing it as one of the many VRMMOs being sold at the local Game Store. I had my doubts but honestly, why not give it a shot?

Now almost twenty-four, I lived by myself in a small apartment studio. I worked as a freelance artist and a bartender. My salaries combined, I make around $40k a year. In my opinion, that's pretty decent. As long as I could survive and do what I loved, I was happy.

My cousin is a college student who part times as a librarian. She's younger than me by one year, my little cousin, Velvet.

We've been close ever since we were toddlers. Well, I thought we got along fine, but she says otherwise (claiming I always chased her and pulled her hair when I was three, something I will probably never remember).

As time passed, we grew a bit distant but we always kept in contact. Imagine her excitement when I bring up Iruna again last week.

She got a head start and went into it two days ago, and told me it's pretty nice. The community is like the old days, since the whole game reset to transfer to VR.

We agreed a time and place to meet up, and now I'm finally trying it for the first time.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I missed the old times, the friends I've lost and will most likely never meet again.

I wonder if things had truly gone back to those times.

Exhaling a long breath, I plugged the game chip into the VR helmet. 

Rechecking to make sure the set up was perfect, I slowly put on the ViRea Helmet. My vision was immediately clouded a darker shade by the tinted screen of the helm.

Laying myself flat on my bed, I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Start up System, ViRea."

The inner Artificial Intelligence responded in a female robotic voice that heavily reminded me of Siri, "ViRea activated. Starting up System."

After that was harder to explain. The transition was a bit odd as my vision was full of bright lights. Instinctively closing my eyes again, I only reopened them when it was completely silent. I was floating in a pure white boxed room.

And I was naked.

Which, wasn't really much of a surprise. I was required to scan myself to set up the system. Moving my hands a bit, it's a bit bizarre. It feels like I'm in my actual body, even though it's only a simulation of nerves in my mind.

Looking up, a screen appears. The Siri imitated voice speaks once again.

**[Speak out clearly your Username and Passcode]**

Previously signing up before as well, I recited my username and password. After a moment, it confirmed my identity.

My surroundings began to change again to a more scenic environment. The familiar Iruna title screen music started to play softly.

A wave of nostalgia came over me instantly, hearing those small little notes. Standing on a grassy plain now, overlooking a distant city like the old title screen of Iruna with that song playing made my eyes water a little. I breathed in sharply, my eyes glazing over as a soft breeze caressed my cheeks.

The Iruna logo came up for a moment, my surroundings becoming pitch black now. After the black faded away for a few seconds, a mirror appeared in front of me, the background now shifting into the plains again.

It was a character creation 'screen' now. I looked at myself in the mirror before glancing at the floating window beside it.

**Character Name** : [_____]  
**Character Sex** : « F »  
**Size** : «1————————10»  
**Hair Style** : « Style 1 »  
**Hair Color** : « Black Dye »  
**Skin Color** : « Fair »  
**Eye Color** : « Brown »  
« Adventurer »  
« Confirm »

It was basically exactly like in Iruna, how the character creation layout was, anyway. Pausing for a moment, sparing another glance at myself in the mirror, I came up with the perfect persona.

A remake of my very first Iruna character—Azure00.

Inputting my name, I proceeded to touch the arrows to what she looked like in my memory. After pressing the last arrow, I examined myself in the mirror.

Like my old character, my hair was dyed a green color, my eyes quite a plain brown and kept the skin tone fair. Unlike my old persona, however, I placed my hair into a low ponytail. My bangs were also different from Azure's, a bit messy and parted slightly to my left. A few strands fell in front of my ears tied back into the ponytail.

Smiling to myself, I remember [Azure00]'s always cold and emotionless expression.

But now, [Azure00] was smiling.

Something new that wasn't in the old game, was choosing your size. I tested out the slider. [1] changed my appearance to that of a child, [10] changing my appearance to someone extremely tall. Pressing my lips together, I slid the marker to a bit less than half. I was a bit shorter than average in real life, so I decided to make my in-game height similar to my own.

Deciding to keep the [Adventurer] clothes (they were just avatar items, you get Adventurer Clothes for armor either way), I pressed « _Confirm_ ».

I squinted my eyes a bit as my surroundings changed once again. Familiar music played in my ears as it shifted into the scenery of Fort Bailune. 

I sucked in a breath. I was actually here. My childhood, my teenage happiness—Iruna.

There was a lot of players already. Some men, some women, some kids, some adults. Fort Bailune was the very first city, or village, a beginning player will spawn in. After that, it's Rokoko. 

And unfortunately, Rokoko is where me and Velvet had decided to meet up. To get there, assuming it follows the game, I'll have to pass around four monster zones.

As easy as that sounds, when you're a newbie player like me who has no experience with VR whatsoever, it's kinda daunting.

Especially since I don't even know how to access my menu.

I shrug to myself. Oh well. Guess I'll have to go through with it, blind. If I die, I'll just respawn here again anyway. Looking around, I try and locate the portal that will bring me to Bailune City, the first monster zone full of only Chakos.

While searching, my eye catches on a small bar at the top of my field of vision. My name, health, mana, and level.

That's one accomplishment.

Level Five, I notice. That means I have around fifteen stat points. Not much I can do since I can't even access them. My current HP is 15 health, my MP at 10 mana.

Eh, pretty decent for a newbie. I should live. It's not like Chakos are aggressive anyways. Or Broschs. Or Colons. 

I think.

After locating the portal, I swiftly walk over to it. My vision becomes blinded again before arriving in the ruined city of Bailune. The music changes to a more vigorous and intense track. Chakos overrun the place. They're the most basic monster in this game, being Level One and the easiest to kill. Also giving only one EXP.

It’s not like I can fight them anyway. I ignore the NPCs waving over to get my attention and proceed on my way to Rokoko.

As I make my way to the teleport, the fierce music stops and is replaced with more calm and playful sounds. My surroundings fade in with color as other players load in.

_This_ is a scenery I was longing for. Micerne Plains, a very bright yet soothing scenery that is seemingly the embodiment of spring.

There's a small hill with an empty house sitting atop of it. Below, there is a stone bridge with a small, serene river flowing calmly under. The grass is a lush green, decorated with an occasional white flower. It's warm with the sun beaming down, a soft breeze passing through.

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment. This was the what I was most excited for. To relive the Iruna days by actually being here. To actually feel the tranquility, to feel the cool water, to feel the sun on my skin.

I wanted to _be_ here.

Opening my eyes again, I notice the many players fighting the monsters that spawn. 

Colons are a pretty common monster. Leedle Colon, Pied Colon, the Choco Colon, etc. They take the form of a deep, chestnut brown, upside down walking acorn. These monsters appear frequently in the whole game, as well as Kijimus. I swear, they're everywhere.

Brosches are quite simple. They're just giant frogs around the size a golden retriever would be in the real world.

Mooths are kinda cute. They're small and furry, kinda remind me of a fluffy brown hedgehog.

But sadly, as players, we have to slay them no matter how cute they are. But enough of that, I need to find my way to Rokoko. Ignoring all of the battling players shooting sling shots, swinging swords, and casting spells with sticks, I try to make my way across the river.

I could just go around and use the bridge, but I'd like to have some sort of fun.

Carefully stepping in the large—and slippery—rocks, I tried to slowly tiptoe to the other side of the river. Steadying myself with my hands out, I nervously made my way on the rocks praying I wouldn't fall.

Unfortunately, the gods of Iruna must have given me terrible luck today because a Brosch comes along, staring up at me curiously.

A bit surprised and confused, I just stare back at it.

"Uh... hello there...?" I say, slightly unsure of myself. 

I guess I was wrong earlier when I thought Brosches wouldn't be aggressive, because it opened its mouth and dragged me down into the cold stream with its tongue. I swore instinctively and yelped a little, surprised. Dragged underwater, I began loosing health as the Brosch began eating away at my HP.

I couldn't breathe, still gasping underwater watching my health deplete under blurred eyes. Terror began to surge inside of me. It felt so real—is this what drowning feels like?

I tried to pick up a stray rock or something at the bottom of the stream to throw at it, but to no avail as it just sank. The current felt somehow stronger as well, so I struggled to even push myself up (especially since the Brosch was on top of me, feeling much heavier than it should).

Closing my eyes as I felt the last bit of my health draining away, I just waited for my impending death and respawn screen.

Somehow it never came as my body felt much lighter with the weight of the Brosch off of me. Now flailing underwater, I was still struggling to breathe until I was whisked out of the water and promptly set on the grass next to the river.

Coughing the water out of my lungs, I could barely hear the remarks of a male softly repeating, "Take it easy, there."

While my coughing slowly subsided, I heard a female voice ask, "Is she ok? Do we have any Revita?"

My vision a bit blurred, I glanced around a bit, momentarily forgetting where I was.

"Hey, you ok? Hello?" A new male voice asked. "Wait, just a second..."

I heard the familiar sound of magic casting as my vision instantly cleared and my health went up. My voice a bit sore and hoarse, I croaked out, "Mini Heal?"

I coughed again, now able to see my saviors clearly.

"Well, yeah, it is mini heal. Anyways, you ok? That was quite a scene you made," the second male said. He had short, white dyed hair that contrasted a bit to his darker tanned skin and blue-ish grey colored eyes. His attire consisted of leather armor.

"Y-Yeah, I think I'm ok," I replied, my voice cracked and stuttered.

"Are you sure?" The girl asked, concerned. She had wavy strawberry blonde hair that went halfway down her back, as well as lime green eyes. Her thicker eyebrows stood out to me a bit. She, unlike the male, wore a dragon skin coat. To be honest, she looked quite cute.

I nodded slowly, squeezing the water out of my ponytail. Because of the game's mechanics, my clothes were nearly dry again, but my hair was still pretty soaked.

My eyes traveled to the first male that spoke, the only one left. He had long, black hair that was in a high ponytail. His eyes were a deep blue, his armor being chainmail. He looked more experienced compared to the other two. He wore a strange expression though, instead of being filled with worry and concern like his friends. The player stared at me as if I was the most amusing thing all day.

"What were you doing using the rocks? You could have used the bridge, you know," he spoke.

My voice slowly going back to how it was before, I replied.

"Well," I began. "As stupid as it sounds, I wanted to try it because I wanted to be a bit adventurous."

He laughed. "And look what happened."

His friends turned to him and glared. 

"Yes, I know I was being stupid," I admitted.

The girl turned to me again. "Why didn't you fight back?"

Sheepishly and slightly embarrassed at my newbie-ness, I looked down slightly.

"I, uh... didn't know how. I was surprised, too!" I added, looking back up at them. They stared at me for a moment.

"Uh... excuse me for asking, but... what level are you on?" The second male asked, lifting an eyebrow.

I laughed nervously, answering them in a deadpan voice, "Five."

They all looked at me, appalled.

"What were you doing, traveling in a monster zone without even knowing how to draw a weapon?" The second male asked.

"Well, I—I was going to learn! I was supposed to meet up with my..." I paused for a moment. "Friend in Rokoko, so I thought I didn't need to fight."

"Did you even try taking the tutorial?" The first male inquired. 

I stared, dumbfounded.

"The what?"

"The tutorial," the girl echoed. "It boosts you to level fifteen after you complete it. It shows you how to access your menu, equipment, log out, all that stuff. It unlocks when you talk to Tilia."

I knew I was stupid, but I didn’t think I was _this_ clueless.

"Right... the tutorial," I repeated. "I forgot about that."

They glanced at each other for a moment. The girl offered her hand to help me stand up.

"I'm Reverie, but you can call me Eri. You can see my name, right?" She introduced, pointing to a floating name, health bar, and mana bar above her. I nodded. Her User was listed as [♪Reverie♪].

The second male pointed to himself. "I'm Licht, level twenty-two, mage class," he informed with a grin. I nodded again, and then looked at the remaining male, expectantly.

He cocked his head. "Do I need to introduce myself?"

I rolled my eyes, letting go of Eri's hand. "Fine, you don't have to. I can just look at your name."

He paused for a moment, and then laughed. "The name's Nachtträger, but just Nacht is fine."

That's definitely gonna be a bit tricky to remember. Thank the Iruna gods he has a nickname.

Stil won’t stop me from butchering the pronunciation.

A bit annoyed by his cockiness, I just sighed.

"Ignore him," Eri prompted. "He lets his OP-ness get to his head just because he was a high level player in the game before."

"Speaking of playing the game before," Licht chimed in. He looked at me. "You're an Iruna veteran too, right? You immediately knew what my skill was, as well as the direction and location of Rokoko."

"Oh, uh, yeah," I replied, scratching my head a bit. "Well, that's one way to put it. I haven't played the game in six years though."

I laughed.

"Imagine my surprise when I see it in the store as a VRMMO."

Licht nodded. "Yeah, we all played it before too. That's actually how we met. We were pretty excited when we found out."

I smiled.

"Well, I should probably meet up with my friend." I turn slightly and waved. "Thanks for saving my life."

"Wait," Nacht stopped me. I pause, narrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

"What?"

"What if you get attacked again? The next monsters are going to be harder, and some more aggressive," he tells me. I shift nervously at that, remembering the Nepheels from old Iruna. My body shivers a little imagining giant spiders leaping for me.

"I'll... manage somehow," I reply, not confident at all.

"I know! How about we accompany you until you meet your friend? We just turned in our main quest, so we have some time," Eri proposes, looking to her partners.

"What."

"Sure, I'm down," Licht grins.

"Wait," I try to interrupt. I feel like a mouse when they don't even bat an eye. They just continue.

"I mean," Nacht speaks, shrugging. "I don't mind showing off."

"Wait, _nononono_ ," I quickly say, waving my hands to get their attention. They finally look at me.

"I'm, _really_ grateful for you guys saving me and all, but you don't need to come with me," I try to persuade them. It's embarrassing enough that I had to reveal my limited knowledge about the tutorial. I'd just feel flat out strange to have three more experienced players acting as bodyguards, even for a little bit.

Eri took my hands in hers and beamed brightly. "It's fine! I'd feel bad leaving someone alone with monsters. Besides, it's not that far."

My eyes softened and I calmed slightly at Eri's bubbly disposition. Perhaps it is a good idea. I don't want to run into a whole crowd of Nepheels. Just the thought of it makes me afraid and nervous.

I open my mouth to comply, only to find that Eri had already gotten out her menu. Her vibrant green eyes looked up at me. "What's your name?"

"Uh." I had to pause for a second to remember. "Azure."

She glances down at the translucent-hologram-like screen and scrolls. Her lips widen into a smile. "There it is."

I tilt my head as she presses onto one of the names and then a few other buttons. Eri looks back up after a moment as a small window appears in front of me. I'd be lying if I say I didn't jump a little.

**♪Reverie♪**  
**You were invited to join a party.**  
**Join this party?**  
«Accept» «Decline» «Later»

Mild panic kicked in as I was a bit unsure of what to do. I darted my eyes back and forth from the floating screen to the three players. A few moments of silence passed before Nacht said in a slightly annoyed voice, "Are you going to accept?"

I sucked in a quick breath, raising my eyes to meet theirs. "I can't give you guys anything. I don't have any armor, or items. I don't even have any spina."

Eri waved it off. "Don't worry, it's no big deal! Just think of it as an escort mission, and you're the NPC!"

I pressed my lips together, unsure. "That's... an odd way to put it, but it makes sense."

Just as I press on the floating « _Accept_ » button, Nacht remarks, "I'm sure you'll be able to repay us in the future."

"What?" Before I knew it, the floating screen disappeared with a soft ringing ding. What... did I just sign myself up for?

I glanced to the three names appearing one by one under mine. Mimicking my own HP and MP bars, I could also see how much health and mana they had (their level and class included). Eri was level twenty-eight, her job being a Warrior. Licht was telling the truth earlier, as he was a level twenty-two Mage. Nacht was a level thirty-eight Warrior.

"Thirty-eight..." I repeated, a bit intimidated. Licht laughed. 

"I know, right? He's trying his best to level up to his original level as fast as he can," Licht explained, gesturing with an extended arm. "What was it again? Three-hundred and something...?"

"Three-hundred and ninety-seven," the darker haired man corrected, raising his head triumphantly while flipping his hair.

"Let's hurry this up then, shall we?" Nacht marched on. He paused for a moment, turning dramatically with a smirk. "... this time, using the bridge?"

I huffed a deep sigh, quietly muttering with a hint of irritation, "Yes, yes, the bridge..."

I followed next to Eri, who was enthusiastically skipping and hopping by my side, with Nacht and Licht walking in front. It felt very strange. Barely fifteen minutes into the game, and my journey to Rokoko has been turned into an escort quest of sorts. I'm sure to other players, if they noticed, would find it strange as well.

Or maybe just think that it's another party.

Walking over the stone bridge, I peered down at the stream beneath. Just a few feet away was where I almost drowned because a Brosch attacked me. I sighed to myself, quickly trotting faster as I was now a bit behind. After a bit, we passed by the ruins of a stone building, a place that frequently spawned Mooths.

We passed by a few, me having to hold in the urge to reach out to one and pet it. Such cute things used to be passive monsters. Now, they would probably attack me. Ahh, how sad life is.

It wasn't long until I found myself stepping into the portal that lead to Rokoko Mining Village. My surroundings abruptly changed, my vision forced with light so strong I had to close my eyes. A digital sounding 'whoosh' filled my ears, seemingly stretching for a while. I felt the area around me begin to darken, slowly opening my eyes once it was safe.

I found myself in a darker map, my feet atop of a path of small tanned stones. In sharp contrast to the bright springtime of Micerne Plains, Rokoko Mining village reminded me of an empty night downtown in the city at a crossroad with a single light pole in the rain. As specific as that sounds, that's the best way I can describe it. It gives a very gloomy atmosphere, the vintage brown-ish lighting that surrounds the area. If my memory's correct, there are a total of four intractable NPCs in this map—one consisting of a whole family, but you only talk to the mother. Then there's the [Young Man], an NPC that helps with the main quest. There's a little girl with a small side quest, and a Slebinian Merchant who sells tools for production.

The map is bigger than I remember it to be. The Young Man stands in front of a large house near the entrance of this map, his hands resting at his sides in a casual stance. His hair is a dirty blonde, his eyes a dark brown. He stares in front of him, almost bored and uninterested until his eyes catch me staring. The Young Man turns his head and waves in my direction with a smile on his face.

I quickly avert my eyes, feeling a bit embarrassed. I forgot that they were NPCs for a moment.

"This place seems a lot bigger than I remember," I said to distract myself. Eri nodded.

"Mm-hm, this map is bigger than it was on mobile. That's because they added a few more buildings and NPCs for hotels."

I paused, wrapping my head around what I just heard. "Did you just say hotels?"

"Yup," she replied, looking at me. "Players can check in and sleep in them like real hotels. When you log out in a normal map like this, monsters can attack your body still and you are at risk of dying. That's why they added these hotels. All of them are safe zones."

She looked forward once again, her hands folded behind her back. "You'll learn this when you take the tutorial anyway, but Fort Bailune is also a safe zone. That includes all of the cities without monsters like Rokoko, Lunite, Sofya, and the rest."

I hummed to myself, taking in the world around me. We walked off the bridge, passing the little girl NPC. There are no monsters in this area of the map, not until you turn right past the tunnel. That's where you will encounter countless goblins. They don't look like your usual RPG goblins with short, half naked bodies and green skin. The goblins in Iruna look more like... almost like mice. Mice that stand on two feet, wear armor, have red eyes, and fight with pickaxes.

Instead of turning right, however, we walk straight up the hill into another warp. I brace myself for the familiar blinding light. It's going to take a while, but I'm sure I'll get used to it at some point. The ground disappears from under my feet for a moment and it feels like I'm floating. The space around me feels empty as the seconds pass by. Slowly, the rest of the world begins to load in, as well as the sounds of the grunts and yells of fighting players.

I hesitantly open my eyes to the world as the music track plays. It's melody is more playful than in Rokoko Mining Village, a bit catchy. Compared to Rokoko Mining Village's lonely and almost eerie map design and music, Ronfa Mountains' music is upbeat. The notes are clear with seemingly few instruments, a few violins in the background only to outline the melody. It's strong, straight to the point without any other instruments muddled in to make it sentimental, but it's not too overbearing and simple either.

I didn't notice it before, but the air in this map is noticeably more humid and warm. Micerne Plains was warm, but a cool wind would pass through. Rokoko Mining Village was a more cooler area that reminded me of sitting in the shade on a spring day. The moment you step into the sun, you're warm again—however, the moment you step into the shade, it feels almost as if the temperature had dropped five to ten degrees.

Ronfa Mountains in comparison to either of those two was much warmer. The air felt so thick and stuffy, as if you could swing a sword and cut it. I suppose it makes sense, as Ronfa Mountains is a map with hot springs littered throughout the area. Just from standing at the entrance, the map seemed much bigger than how it felt on mobile. I didn't realize how tall the mountain's walls were. It's kinda like if you walked through a limestone cave, only the ceiling is replaced with the open sky to allow the sunlight. There are four large hot spring pools, one where you are able to scoop some up as a healing item in battle.

The edges of my lips turned up into a smile. The next map was Rokoko City, my destination. Lost in my thoughts, I found I was behind again.

"Azuuuuuure," Eri called, the party stopping for a moment.

"Ah, sorry about that," I replied, speed walking toward them. Ronfa Mountains has two other teleports other than its entrance, one leading to Rokoko. The last warp leads to another monster zone; a large cave called Rokoko Windhole with two levels filled with monsters. Rokoko Windhole also has a warp that leads to Diel Village.

Turning left around a large wall of stone, I followed behind the three players. So far, my trip to Rokoko has been much easier than I thought it would be. No monsters had attacked me yet.

... I had almost forgotten that there were still many monsters in this map.

The outside of my vision had a light red tint to it, I found myself blasted forward. I fell to the ground a few feet in front of me, wincing from the impact. Rather than hitting the ground, what was more painful was the intense and sharp pain throbbing in my back. My whole body began to heat up, my heart pounding in my ears. It hurt so much. The pain wouldn't go away. I was unable to suppress the loud cry that escaped my throat as I tried to support myself on the ground.

It felt like I had just been slashed with a large knife. My vision began to blur with forming tears, barely able to glance in the upper left where I could see my health as well as the others'. My HP bar had gone down significantly, less than one third left.

Was being attacked by the Brosch this painful? I took a peek over my shoulder to see a Kijimu quickly approaching. How a Kijimu attacks is much different than a Brosch. A Brosch would just give you continuous pounds and hits with their tongue, a much softer feeling attack than a Kijimu. A Kijimu, despite looking like a giant ginger root, they attack with intense kicks with their small feet.

But why did it feel so painful?

The pain instantly faded away as if a cool and soothing wave had rushed over my being, the familiar teal glow of Mini Heal illuminating my body. I watched my health instantly replenish to its fullness, my sight clearing up as well as the sudden ease to breathe.

Behind me I heard Eri let out a battle cry of sorts, turning my head just in time to see her deal one slash to the Kijimu with a Claymore. In an instant, the Kijimu let out a cry as its body disintegrated leaving only the white daisy that was growing atop its head. The fragile flower fell onto the ground soundlessly, Eri leaning over to pick it up. She tapped it, a small window appearing in front of her.

"Cule Flower, a normal drop," she sighed, the flower turning a pale pink color before bursting into particles. My mouth fell agape, since it was the first time seeing how a player collects a drop. She turned her head, walking over to me. Extending a hand, she asked, "Azure, are you ok? I didn't think they'd do so much damage to you."

I grimaced, the sharp pain still so fresh in my mind. I grabbed her hand as she pulled me to my feet. "Yeah, I think I'll be fine. I didn't think it would hurt so much. It's hard to believe this is a game."

Licht gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, taking damage is a bit hard at first. But don't worry, its not always like that. It was probably only that painful because you don't have many health or defense points. Once you increase your level, attacks from these low level monsters won't feel like anything."

"I'm assured to hear that. I don't think I'd be able to handle that pain every time I get attacked," I sigh. I took another look around. We were just into the Nepheel spawning part of the map. I shivered slightly at the sight of the giant spiders minding their own business. "Let's just hurry up."

"Why in such a rush? Afraid of spiders or something?" Nacht prodded, arching one of his eyebrows.

"Yes. I am," I replied instantaneously. I walked past him. "We're almost there, and I am not looking forward to getting attacked again."

I didn't need to turn around to know that Nacht was making some sort of mischievous face. "Sorry to break the news, but you're going to have to fight monsters to level up."

' _At least I won't feel like being stabbed each time I fight a Colon or Mooth_ ,' I wanted to say, but kept my peace. Despite the banter, we continued forward towards the Rokoko teleport without any further injury.

I breathed out a long sigh as the world began to materialize around me. A calming melody began to play, something similar to a keyboard of sorts playing simple notes before strings joined in. However, the soundtrack seemed quieter than usual, blocked out a bit from the chatter of many other players in the middle of the town. Although we still stood at the entrance to Rokoko, it was very clear to us that the town square was bustling with people.

I looked up at tall buildings that stood, almost making a wall around the center of Rokoko City. In mobile, those buildings were just for show—you could only enter perhaps two buildings to interact with NPCs. However, now it appeared that you could enter countless of buildings in Rokoko. 

"... I didn't expect there would be so many people," I admitted, almost overwhelmed as we approached the town square. As we passed under the stone bridge into the center, I could see a glimpse of a merchant through the crowd of people. 

"So where's this friend of yours?" Nacht asked, looking around. I squinted my eyes to remember.

"Mm... we planned to meet in front of the Fortune Teller's hut, I think. Is it in the same place?" I asked, turning to look at them.

"Dunno, haven't tried getting a fortune yet," Eri replied. "Oh! I can try to pull up the map for you."

"That'd be appreciated," I said. It only took a few seconds for her to pull up her menu and find the map of Rokoko City. I leaned over to take a better look. On the map were tiny dark blue dots clustered in the middle, most likely representing players. There was three teal dots together, as well as a white dot. I assumed that represented Eri, the teal representing Me, Licht and Nacht since we were in a party.

I glazed over the whole map, trying to figure out where the Fortune Telling shop was. 

"There aren't any markers," I realize, pressing my lips together. In mobile, the maps would have small symbols that represented certain NPCs such as merchants, blacksmiths, and alchemists. Maya the Alchemist owned the fortune telling shop, but there was no marker to be found.

"Ah, you're right. I didn't notice since I automatically remember where the merchants are," Licht added, looking over Eri's shoulder.

"Mmm..." I narrowed my eyes. I began to mumble to myself. "If the teleport from Ronfa is here, then... Witch Hunter Woods is there? Or is that Rokoko Plains? No, that's Witch Hunter, isn't it?"

Sighing, I shook my head. "I'll just wander around. I'm sure I'll find her eventually; it's much safer here than in monster zones.

I looked back up to the three of them, the corners of my mouth slightly upturned.

"Thank you again for helping me. If we ever meet again in the future, I'll be sure to repay you guys somehow."

Eri smiled brightly. "Please, don't worry about it! It was just something to pass the time, so you don't have to repay us."

"That's what you think—I could have leveled up at least five levels by now," Nacht interjected, earning a sarcastic eye roll from both Eri and Licht.

"Please, this took maybe fifteen minutes to get here? Twenty? It didn't take too long, I'm sure you can earn more levels later," Licht responded. Nacht huffed.

"Every second counts if I want to get stronger as fast as I can," he stated. An empty laugh escaped my lips. I almost forgot the possibility that I could be older than them.

"Fine, fine, I'll figure out a way to make up twenty minutes of your time in the future," I sighed. Turning back to Eri, I began, "I don't know how to leave a party yet, so..."

"Ah, right, right, I understand," she replied, bringing up her window again. A few seconds later, I saw the three names under mine disappear. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad. I've only known these people for twenty minutes at most, and I'd already grown attached.

I began to take a few steps back, raising a hand to wave goodbye.

"Let's hopefully meet again soon."

I turned away from them and began to run.

This game world itself while looking in from an outside perspective is very small, just barely enough to fit all the players that had joined. It wouldn't be impossible for us to meet again.

However, this is a game. We all have our own separate lives outside of this fictional world. Time zones, school, jobs—everything in the real world distracts us enough already. That's why I came to the conclusion that we most likely won't ever meet again.

There's no point in being attached to strangers. I learned that fact much long ago. Even good friends I've had through middle school and high school, I stupidly thought we would stay friends even after graduation.

I was foolish. We all went our separate ways to lead our own lives, and we didn't look back. That's the cruel reality.

There's no point in getting attached to people I will only see once, if I can't even stay connected to the people I had known since childhood.

"Ah, that's right... the Fortune Teller House." I probably only felt lonely since it's been so long since I hung out with other people so casually like that, even if it was for twenty minutes. That's one of the reasons why I was so eager to play this game again—to reconnect with my cousin, and go back to the time when things were so simple.

Go back to the times, the irresponsible times. Go back to the days where after school I would just carelessly throw aside my backpack and homework only to jump immediately onto my mobile device and load into Iruna. Back to the days where I would call my cousin and fight in Ferzen's Office just to level her up to my level. Back to the days where we would spend countless of hours killing so many Pied Colons just to get a stack of Stoic Seed to heal.

But that time of innocence is long gone. I'm not a child anymore—we're adults now. We have more important things to do.

"Fortune Teller, Fortune Teller..." I muttered, looking around. 

Even if we have to work again tomorrow morning; even if we go back to not talking for another two months...

Just for a little bit, I want to go back.

Pushed to the ground with an incredible force, my desperate thoughts had immediately been replaced with mild panic and utter confusion.

An attack? Another Kijimu? But we're in Rokoko, we're in a city! There shouldn't be any—

"Aaaaaazuuuuuuuure, zero zero!" The loud pounding in my chest subsides as a long sigh escapes my lips.

"Oh my god, it's just you."

"Just you? Oh excuuuuse me! At least I wasn't nearly forty-five minutes late to our arranged time and meeting place!" The woman exclaimed, her arms tightly wrapped around me.

"Sorry," I apologized, struggling to sit up. "But to be fair, getting from Fort Bailune to Rokoko is a damn challenge for someone who just made their character—never mind someone who has never used Virtual Reality gear in their life."

A nervous laugh escaped from her. "Yeah, well, I'll give you some leeway for that."

The woman finally let go of me, scrambling to the ground next to me as I stretched my legs. I turn to actually take a look at her avatar.

Her hairstyle was a very short haircut that fluffed near her neck, two thin and dark purple-maroon braids falling in front of her ears. Her bangs had parted in the middle only to leave a single short strand to rest on her open forehead, an ahoge bouncing off the top of the mop of hair.

Her skin was slightly more rosey than mine, her cheeks flushed with youth and innocence to accompany her golden colored eyes. Her attire wasn't very over the top either, just a worn leather armor. Above her was a floating name spelling out, 'Univosmic'.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow. My younger cousin rolled her eyes.

"Please, you look exactly like Azure. It'd be impossible for me to _not_ know it was you." She smiled, standing up and stretching her arms.

"Mmm! You took so long that I eventually went out to slay some Leedle Colons!" She complained, glaring at me slightly with shimmering eyes.

I gave a halfhearted laugh while pushing myself to my feet. "Yes, yes, I once again apologize for being late."

Her arms fell, crossing themselves in front of her chest.

"Have you fought any monsters yet?" She questioned, tilting her head ever so slightly. A sarcastic laugh erupted from my chest.

"Hah. I wish," I gloomily replied, averting my eyes to the side. "I almost got killed twice because I don't even know how to unsheathe a weapon yet."

My cousin's mouth fell, a flabbergasted look upon her face. "You don't even know how to..?! How did you even survive?"

That earned more hollow laughter from me. "It's a long story."

"You hold out your right hand like this," she explained, extending her arm as if to grasp something. I mirrored her movements. She sharply thrusted it to her side as if to throw something in anger. "And then you pretend you're stabbing someone next to you."

"Those are pretty gruesome words to come out of a college student’s mouth," I joked as a Claymore began to materialize in her right hand. She shrugged.

"Tis only the truth."

I imitated her movements, however, nothing had appeared in my hand. I tried once again, only for the fruits of my effort to wield the same results.

"... Vel, it's not working."

"Yeah, I can see that," she replied, her obsidian sword bursting into maroon particles as she rested a hand on her chin. "... have you done the tutorial, yet?"

"Nope."

A large sigh escaped her.

"Seiiiiyaaaaa."

"Ok, now hear me out. In my defense, I didn't even know the tutorial existed until ten minutes into the game."

She threw an arched glance at me. "Ten minutes of...?"

"... almost getting drowned by a Brosch."

Another sigh. "I can't believe you used to be a better Iruna player than me."

"I'm good at Iruna," I defended, a hand raised to my chest. "I'm just not good at VR Iruna."

"That much is apparent in itself," she remarked, shaking her head. "Do you know how to open your menu at least?"

"Nope."

She blinked, her mouth pressed into a thin line and her eyes blank.

"... You take your index finger and middle finger and just swipe it like this." Her menu came up instantaneously.

"It's that easy?!"

"Yup."

Hesitantly, I rose my right hand, curling my pinky, ring, and thumb fingers into my palm. I then swiped it in the air bringing it closer toward me. Instantly, a translucent window appeared in front of me with a small, jingling 'ding'.

"... huh."

"'Huh', indeed," my little cousin remarked. I began to look around the options in the menu. The first page of the menu has five buttons that lead to a new window.

[Character] leads to [Stats], [Quest], [Equipment], [Job], [Production], and [Pet Orders]. [Items] creates a window that shows you what drops and items you have in your inventory categorized in [Healing], [Consumables], [Collectables], [Equipment], [Ore], and [Coin]. [Community] allows you to pull up the windows to view [Guild], [Party], [Friend], [Target], [Trade], and [Mail]. [Map] allows you to view the area's map, as well as see players as little dots. [Settings] is a tab where you can control how loud you can hear the map's music, access [Shortcuts], and...

"... Vel, where's the [Log Out] button?"

"Hm?" She hummed, leaning over to see. "... hm, that's weird. Just a second."

She opened her own menu, pressing into the settings.

"... ah, mine isn't here either. That's really weird. Ah, hey, excuse me." Vel had walked away from me to talk to a random player. The male and his party stopped for a moment to look at her.

"Yeah? Is there something you need?"

"Are you able to find the [Log Out] button?" My cousin asked. The man and his party exchanged confused glances before opening their own menus one by one.

"... Oh? I can't find mine. What about you guys?"

"Mine isn't here either."

"Maybe it's a bug or something?"

"Maybe..." Vel said half heartedly, her eyebrows scrunching together in worry. She bowed slightly. "I apologize for taking your time."

"Ah, no problem. This is weird though..." The man and his party then walked away as if nothing happened. My now maroon haired cousin began to walk back to me.

"I guess it's not just us," she confirmed. I hummed to myself, finger on my temple.

"Mmm... I hope it gets resolved soo—"

Interrupting me, my body began to fade away into teal particles and pixels. A surprised yelp escaped my lips.

"What is...?!" I lifted my eyes up to Vel, who shared my bewildered expression as a blue light began to consume her as well. My eyes flickered to the people around us who gasped and murmured as lights consumed them all, fading away into pixels and particles. Before I knew it, my hands and fingers were no more, almost both of my arms disintegrated away and half of my chest still 'here'.

It didn't take any time at all before the familiar feeling of blindness came over me, forcibly closing my eyes from the light. Shivers were sent throughout my body as my world became filled with white. My feet found ground once again, finally being able to safely open my eyes to a new scenery.

The first thing I noticed was the multitude of people teleported one by one into this map. I was closer to a building near the outskirts of the area. I was unsure of where I was until I spotted the fountain a little ways away from me.

All these people—including me—had been teleported to Capital City Sofya. I gazed up at the tall buildings, taking out my menu and the area map. The familiar layout confirmed it, we were in Sofya. From what the map was showing, the number of players in this city continued to increase. Judging by the clusters of dots near teleports on the map, I'm assuming you cant escape either.

I cast my menu away with my hand, glancing around to the people around me. I had to find Vel.

Walking around panicked and confused crowds, I cupped my hands together and tried calling out to her by shouting.

"Vel!" I bellowed, nearing where merchants usually were. The NPCs had disappeared as well, as the merchants were not where they should be as if they had vanished. I could barely hear myself over the chatter of the growing amount of confused players. 

To try to get away from the constant noise, I walked down the stone steps and down onto the docks. The sound of the ocean became a bit louder. Another thing I noticed was that there wasn't any music. Without the sound of the water and players, it would be completely silent.

I sat down on a wooden box, worried about my cousin's whereabouts. Where could she have been teleported?

I looked up. The amount of people has visibly been increased. The longer I sit here and wait for something to happen, the lower the chance of finding Vel. I hopped off the crate and up the steps again.

"Vel!" I shouted, running through the crowd. I bumped into a lot of people, muttering quick apologies but I didn't stop moving. It felt like something was going to happen, and if I'm not by her side, I don't think I could forgive myself. "Vel!"

"—i?"

Muffled and almost nothing compared to the incoherent conversations around us, I thought I heard someone call my name.

"Sei?" I heaved a relieved sigh when I heard her voice nearby.

"Vel? Where are you?" I called out, glancing around. Her voice grew a little louder as I walked.

"Ah, uh... let's see, in a big crowd of people?" I shoved past a few people before I could see her confused face.

"Oh really? I could never guess," I replied sarcastically, placing a hand on her shoulder. She gave a surprised gasp before truning her head to me.

"Oh, there you are!" She exclaimed, sighing in relief. "Do you have any idea what's happening?"

"I should be asking you that. You're the one who's been playing for the past three days," I grumble. She opened a map from her menu.

"There's so many players here... Don't tell me this is all of the people playing today?" She assumes.

"As big as Sofya is, I don't think it can fit _that_ many players," I try to reason. My cousin throws a glance at me.

"But Sei, this is a lot. How many dots is this? This is ten people, so a hundred here... what is this, at least seven hundred?," Vel questioned, her finger dragging against the map.

I bit my lip, hand on my chin as I watched the number of dots increase. "Just what is happening...?"

" _ ~~Good evening~~_ ," a voice began to boom. I jolted in surprise. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere. Judging from other players' reactions, I wasn't the only one to hear the voice. The voice was deep with a slight digital rumble. Looking around, I caught sight of a dark, cloaked figure floating above the fountain located in the center of the map. There was no indication to their identity. It was hard to tell what was under that cloak's hood as we were farther away from the fountain. It didn't appear those near the fountain could tell either.

" _ ~~I'm sure many, if not all of you, are confused. Of the ten thousand logged in today, I have randomly chosen three thousand of those players to partake in my 'game'.~~_ "

A low pitched chuckle was heard, booming in our ears. " _ ~~In each capital city, I have held approximately one thousand players.~~_ "

Three screens began to appear, each showing a different scene. One screen, I recognized, was panning over many players in Sofya. 

" _ ~~For my experiment, I have made it so all of you will be unable to simply 'Log Out' of this game. Not even death can release you~~_ ," The cloaked figure began. Slowly, the voice continued, " _ ~~After all, if you die in this game your brain will shut down. Although your heart may still beat, your consciousness would have been long gone and you will die.~~_ "

For a moment, a wave of silence had washed over all the players in Iruna. In that moment, I don't even think I fully understood. My mind seemed to have been frozen in time, still processing this information. It took a moment for everything to click.

"... What?" Almost immediately, murmurs and panic began to ensue. Beside me, I could tell Vel was still almost in a state of shock and confusion.

"I don't believe it!" I heard someone exclaim. "I refuse to believe it! Such a thing, this all just a joke!"

The figure was still, and no voice was heard. A pit in my chest began to grow, an unshakeable feeling of dread spreading throughout my body.

" _ ~~... A joke?~~_ " The voice resounded. The floating screens turned black. A chill suddenly crawled up my spine, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. " _ ~~... Ah, I see, I see. Merely words aren't going to be enough to convince this many people. Then I suppose...~~_ "

The screens flickered on, now showing the image of three separate people. One was a male player with white dyed hair and silver eyes whom wore an adventurer garb. The second screen had shown a woman with teal dyed hair and red eyes wearing chain mail. The third screen...

The sound of the unsheathing of a weapon behind me brought my throbbing heart to a halt as I tore my vision away from the figure on the third screen. A shadowy figure had appeared behind all three players shown on the screens, materializing their weapons in sync. My cold body had a sudden surge of energy.

" _ ~~I suppose I will have to demonstrate.~~_ "

"Velvet, _MOVE_!"

Shoving my cousin out of the way, I hissed in pain as the sword swung down onto me. I felt the immediate pain from my right shoulder to lower back. 

I fell to the ground with a loud thump, worsening my pain. My body began to burn and sting. I didn't even know if it was possible, but it felt even worse than earlier with the Kijimu. My heart was ringing so loudly in my ears, I could barely hear the shrieking of players' voices. My eyesight became blurred and tinted red. I can't even see my health because of how watery they are.

I couldn't stop the noises that escaped my mouth. It hurts, so much. It felt like my lungs are slowly closing in on themselves. I can barely breathe. A violent cough escaped my throat. So hot. It burns, it burns.

"Agh... Kh... Ah... I-It..."

It feels like I'm dying. Am I dying? Is what that person said true? Am I really going to die?

Someone's shaking me. 

"...i!"

A familiar coolness washed over me, instantly erasing any of the pain I had been feeling. I couldn't comprehend anything for a moment. Am I dead? How else could I feel such intense pain, and then nothing?

"Am... am I dead?"

"No, you aren't dead! If you died on me, I would find you and kill you again myself!" My cousin's familiar voice wailed. 

I could feel myself breathe again, suddenly appreciating the flow of oxygen in my lungs. My energy feels spent. I'm not in pain anymore, but I don't think I can even move.

"... My eyes are still blurry. Can you wipe them for me?"

After a moment, I felt my cousin's thumb roughly rub against my squinted eyes, removing any forming tears. I opened my eyes once again to see my cousin's flustered face. With a groan, I managed to find the energy to move my arms. I pried myself away from her shoulder (which I had been leaning on it seems) and sat up. Glancing to my health bar, I found that it was at full health. All of my fifteen health.

My eyes went back to the screens, widening in shock. On the third screen, I saw myself staring up at it. The other two screens, however, had just shown the other two targeted players' bodies disintegrating into red particles.

I felt my heart pound in my chest. That could have been Vel if I hadn't pushed her away. I let my face fall into my palm.

"... How did I survive that?" I murmured. If I recall correctly, although the male on the first screen seemed about the same level as me from his armor, the woman wore chainmail. She must have been at least level thirty. How did me and my fifteen health survive, and she didn't?

"... Mini Heal," Vel muttered in reply.

"Hm?"

"Just a few seconds after you took the hit, someone immediately cast mini heal on you," my cousin explained. "I don't know who though. Everyone around us was panicking from what the screens showed."

"So no one in the other capitals thought of using mini heal?" I concluded, flabbergasted. She shook her head and shrugged.

The screens turned into particles.

" _ ~~... How interesting. I picked three players randomly, yet one of them survived. A player completely outside the equation took the instant death hit instead, and yet that player is still alive. Amusing.~~_ "

My blood ran cold. The thing talks as if we're guinea pigs in an experiment. It talks like we're just toys to play with.

" _ ~~That matters not. As long as at least one of them had died, my intentions should be clear enough. Once you die in this game, you will not respawn and you will die. The consequences and objectives in this world are the same as in the real world. Survive, and beat this 'game' to free every player from this place alive. If you fail, you will die.~~_ "

In all the screaming and crying and panicking of the players, its cold laughter could be heard clearly.

" _ ~~I bid all three thousand of you farewell, and good luck.~~_ "

In an instant, we were teleported back to Rokoko in the exact place we were before. 

"... Sei, that wasn't a dream, was it?" I turned to my cousin, who cast down her eyes. Vel's eyebrows were knit together, the space between them scrunched up and tense. Her eyes were half lidded, almost closed. My cousin's face was flushed and she was gnawing on her lip. "All of this, it's not a dream, is it? We're really going to die."

I rose a hand to try to comfort her, but hesitated. How am I supposed to comfort someone in this situation, when I myself can barely understand what happened? I let my hand fall back to my side.

I sucked in a breath. "Yeah. This isn't a dream. Any wrong move, and we could pay it with our lives."

Brutal honesty. That's always how I've done things. I can't say anything to comfort her, because there isn't anything. False words of encouragement and hope, saying what they want to hear—that's just lying to her and myself. I don't want to lie to either of us. We don't deserve that.

There was silence between us for a moment. I could still hear the distant confused panicking from other players in the center of the map. It was white noise to me at this point, just muffled and incoherent sounds that may continue to echo inside my head.

"... but we shouldn't throw our lives away. There is a way to leave alive isn't there? That _thing_ said we have to beat this game." I began, trying to rise to my feet. My body is still a bit weak. My legs are trembling slightly, the memory of that pain so fresh in my mind. "I'm scared. I've been so close to death so many times today. I don’t want to die, and I don't want you to die."

She lifts her eyes to look up at me.

"That's why I'm going to get stronger. I'll help beat this game," I resolve. "I've never been a main character. I can't beat the final boss alone... but the best I can do, is at least take part in breaking one of the chains that bind us here. Even it's one boss, I'll fight. I'll fight so that we can live."

This isn't a game anymore. I can't respawn if I fail to try again. I can't overestimate myself.

I'm a tightrope walker without any balance tiptoeing on a thin string. Just one wrong move and I'll fall to my death. However, if I don't even try to walk on it, there's a definite zero percent chance I'll make it to the other side.

This is the start, this is the first chapter.

This is where we begin.


	2. From Noob to Novice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although promising to herself that she’d help beat Iruna, Sei still has a long way to go before she can even last a day on her own.

"Hey, Vel, what... level are you?" I asked. It had been perhaps three hours since then. You'd think in those three hours, we would be up and about trying to level up as much as we can. Maybe we would be the complete opposite, shutting ourselves away into a corner, or perhaps throwing ourselves into a monster field to somehow wake up from a cruel dream.

But in those three hours, we've just been... listless. We're still here, sitting near GM Neints, against the beige brick wall, hugging our knees. I said such confident words earlier but I guess we're still trying to take it all in, to let it settle. It just feels... empty. It's unnatural, because I don't feel a thing. It scares me. I've always been this way, so blank and almost unfeeling. So apathetic and nonchalant, never panicked about anything.

But it scares me, how easily I'm taking this. I'm not normal. If we aren't careful, we will die in this game, in this world. Just one hit, and we're gone. Yet, I'm still so calm and composed.

"Twenty four," Velvet answers, still tracing circles onto the ground with her fingertips. I spare a glance toward my cousin, her face still a bit crestfallen, deep in thought.

"... Were you busy?" I hesitantly asked. Unlike me, Velvet was still in school. She had just started her third year of college. I went to college for around two years for a Master's degree, but Vel was aiming for a Bachelors.

"... it doesn't matter anymore, does it? I'm still going to miss months worth of classes," she retorted, just a bit of irritation in her voice.

"... yeah, I guess... it doesn't..." I quieted, averting my eyes back to my bent knees. I'm sure one of her friends would check up on her and find her full-dived body. There's no doubt she would get found quickly. I don't know what's happening in the real world. I don't even know if they know what's going on, what's happening in this game.

I glanced back to my cousin, and then back to the stone ground below. Squeezing my fists together, I closed my eyes with a sigh. I was always like this. I could never comfort someone. I was never good at words, and won't be in a situation like this.

Velvet wanted to be a therapist. She wanted to help people. She had dreams, bright aspirations and a goal. She wanted to help kids, kids like how she used to be. I can still hear the cries of frustration and just... just her giving up on the future. I was so proud of her when she finally decided what to do with her life.

And now, because of me, she most likely won't be able to achieve that dream.

"... I'm sorry," I said, bringing my knees closer.

"For what?" She snapped, an edge to her words.

"... For dragging you into this," I continued. "I was the one... who told you about this, this world. This game. I was the one who decided to call you and say, 'Hey, remember Iruna. The game we played when we were twelve'. _I_ was the one that suggested we play together sometime, for old times' sake."

With a raspy breath, I raised my hands to my head. My voice was quieter, softer when the next words escaped my lips. "And look what happened."

There was this... dreadful silence between us. Players gathered in Rokoko had decreased significantly, leaving to either get stronger, or test out to see if it really was true that you would die. That's why I could so easily hear each inhale and exhale of our breaths.

"... I guess it was your fault."

"... I know."

"I guess _all_ of this was your fault."

"I know."

I heard a shift next to me, like she was standing up.

"I guess _everything_ , is your fault. The fact that we're _both_ stuck in this game together. The fact that _I_ decided to play with you again. The fact that _I_ decided to put on that full-dive helmet. The fact that _I_ decided to play _two days earlier_ than our panned date. God, it was all your fault that _we_ decided on a time and place to meet up and play, _together_ ," she angrily continued, fuming. I stared up at her between my fingers with an unknown expression. It only seemed to irritate her further as she held out her hands in a gesture.

" _God_ , why can't you understand that it's not all your fault! We decided together that we would play again. Together. I could have easily refused because I was busy. I could have easily rescheduled for a later date and then we would have found out about this. We didn't know that we'd get trapped here in this... this _game_! It's nobody's fault!" Velvet exclaimed.

There was a beat and then she just sighed, her eyes softening. She leaned back against the wall and slid down to sit. "It was always like this. Some sort of—something! Would happen to us, and we'd blame ourselves for things that was out of our control."

Another sigh, and her head fell, resting against my left shoulder. "We didn't know any of this would happen. And now we have to deal with it, in our own way."

A moment passed before I let my head rest against hers. "So... now what?"

She was silent for a moment, until she let out a breath.

"Well, first of all, we gotta teach you how to play."

* * *

"That's all. Would you like me to repeat anything?"

"No, I think I understand," I said, ending the tutorial. Tilia nodded, my surroundings turning white to return me to a normal field. I squinted my eyes, sighing as the sight of Fort Bailune loaded in. After the players had loaded, I opened my menu. Touching the [Items] button, I found the forty tickets to Fort Bailune and Rokoko City.

As a gift for taking the tutorial, Tilia gives you eighty teleport tickets, ninety-nine beginner potions (that heal one-hundred-and-fifty HP and fifty MP), and [Tilia’s Talisman]. [Tilia’s Talisman] gives the player, when equipped, five hundred HP and two hundred MP.

Talking to Tilia would also give you a starter weapon. You could choose between a [Staff] type weapon, fit for people planning to become a mage class. You could choose a [Sword] type weapon, fit for those who decide to become warrior classes. There was also a [Bow] type weapon, most likely if you want to become a [Hunter] class in the future.

I chose a sword, despite my resolve to become a mage class. As a low level player, a sword is best as it deals the most damage. When you become an apprentice mage, you have to wait until you become level fifteen to actually use your first skill. However, I am still completely new to this game.

Even though I was now level fifteen player, choosing a sword was the best thing for me. Despite Tilia’s instructions on how to cast some spells, my actual in-game experience was pretty low. Throughout the game, there will be countless of opportunities for me to get a stronger staff type weapon. By then, I’m sure I would have practiced enough to cast spells fluently.

Recalling what Vel showed me earlier, as well as the example Tilia taught me, I held out my hand. Pretending to grasp something, I swung it to my right. Lo and behold, a Short Sword materialized in my hand. I gave it a few experimental swings.

It was lighter than I thought. The weight in my hand felt similar to... maybe a five pound weight? Just a bit lighter? Perhaps three? I'm not quite sure. It was easy to swing around, surprisingly, especially since I hadn't distributed my stat points.

"... oh? You chose a sword??" I stopped my motions when I heard Vel's voice. Flickering my eyes toward her, I squeezed the grip of the sword's hilt until the sword dispersed into green pixels and particles.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's not like I can quickly use any spells right now, anyway."

"Welp, whatever you say," she shrugged. She brought out her menu. "It's around ten o'clock. In the game's time anyway."

I gazed up at the dark sky. Eri was right about the hotels. Just like she said, Tilia explained monster zones and safe areas, Hotels being one of them.

"Do you think you can start fighting, now?" Vel asked, hands on her hips. I scoffed, a nervous laugh following after.

"Chakos, maybe. I'd rather not fight any Brosches yet," I replied, remembering the feeling of being held underwater. I pressed my lips together, a cold shiver down my spine. She pat my shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll help you fight. You'll be level twenty in no time," she reassured me. I opened my stats menu, locating my spina. None.

With a sigh, I concluded, "I have to fight a few, anyway. I don't know how much hotel rooms cost, but I'm pretty sure they're not free."

A laugh. "Do you know how to party?"

Unfortunately, Tilia did not go over functions like 'friending' and 'partying'. She went over the very minimal, explaining where to find 'what' and how to use 'what'. Thinking back, I could have asked more detailed explanations but once you took the tutorial, you can't take it again.

"I... vaguely remember how you did it on mobile, but..." I trailed off, unsure if it was the same process. My cousin hummed to herself, pondering. She walked next to me, opening her menu.

"So, it's pretty much like how it was before," she began, rolling her eyes with a playful smile, pressing her [Community] button. I watched as she easily pressed button and button, scrolling down a list of players. "Although, it's a pain to scroll through such a big list."

She tapped on an empty bar at the top, allowing a keyboard window to pop up. I stared, amazed. It was peculiar and almost futuristic, although we were inside a game. Briskly, she tapped away and then pressed [enter]. My username popped up instantly.

She threw me a glance. "Of course, this makes it easier."

I whistled. "I guess you really did benefit from those two days."

She shrugged, tapping on my username. After the keyboard window disappeared, a new window popped up. It had six buttons, [Add Friend], [Invite to Party], [Invite to Guild], [Send Mail], [Trade], and [Trace]. However, the [Invite to Guild] and [Trace] buttons were greyed out as if unavailable.

"Why can't you use those ones?" I asked. Velvet tapped on them, only to emit a dull noise.

"Probably have to be in a guild to unlock them," she assumed, pressing the [Add Friend] button.

**Univosmic**

**You were sent a friend request.**

**Become friends?**

«Accept» «Decline» «Later»

Quickly, I pressed «Accept».

"And [Trace]?" She shrugged, repeating the steps from before only to press [Invite to Party].

"You're guess is as good as mine," my cousin replied. I accepted her request, watching as the name [Univosmic] appeared under mine. Velvet was a level twenty-four warrior, which wasn't a surprise. Whenever we used to play RPGs when we were younger, she would always choose a warrior type job where she could deal a lot of damage with a sword. In contrast to that, I always chose some sort of healing profession. Back then, she would easily jump into battle without a care. She wouldn't even notice if her health dropped to 20% because she's so focused on fighting. It was tedious for me because I always panicked for her reckless way of playing, my role as a mage being used to constantly heal her and myself.

But now, we can't be as reckless as we used to. After all, if we die here, it really will be "Game Over".

"So, should we start with Brosches?" she teased, waving her arm to summon her sword. I groaned, a small smile on my lips.

"Please don't."

"Fine, Kijimus it is then," she proposed, unaware. I shivered once again at the memory. The burning pain was phantom on my back. "After all, they also drop Feathered Rods, which is pretty decent for around your level."

"Skip on that, too," I quickly interrupted, walking past her toward the teleport to Bailune City. I looked back to see her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"Really? That, too?" She questioned, walking next to me as we proceeded through the portal. I braced myself to the familiar scene of pure white, closing my eyes tightly. All sounds became silent, until the invigorating music of Bailune City piqued my ears. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see a dark filter cast over the map, imitating night with only a few fires here and there to dimly light the area. I could also see many players battling through the darkness, fighting the easiest mob in the game. It was a slow process and would take forever to level up, but Chakos would have basically no chance of killing you.

"Then, what do you want to farm?" Vel asked, walking ahead of me. She gave me a sideways glance, watching as I stood there in vague thought.

"... I'm fine with whatever you can handle. Don't worry about me," I said, quietly. My cousin stared at me for a moment, then looked up to the starry spotted sky. She pressed her mouth together into a thin line, closing her golden eyes tightly almost in hesitation. If I hadn't known she was Velvet, I wouldn't have spared her a second glance. Everything was different about her—physically, anyway. Be it her hair, her eyes, her face structure—she was almost a completely different person.

"... I didn't want to, in case you couldn't handle it," she began, her eyes slowly meeting mine. "But Leedle Colons crossed my mind."

"Oh," I replied. Leedle Colons were located in Rokoko Plains, right next to Rokoko City. They were a bit higher level, around level fifteen to twenty if my memory was correct. Their hits would definitely hurt much more than a Kijimu's, and I don't think I could deal much damage to them either. However, they do drop healing items. They also drop more experience. In my memory, I don't know if that applies here, but they were passive monsters. Unless they are attacked, they won't bat an eye... but then again, I thought Brosches were like that as well. "That's not... too bad. Are they aggressive?"

"I don't think they are. They're not too hard to kill either, I can kill them in around... maybe six or so hits? And because of my stats, they don't deal as much damage to me," Vel explained. She brought up her stats, revealing half of her stat points toward Vitality. I lifted an eyebrow. "My concern is more about you."

"Why are they only to Vit?" I asked, ignoring her concern for a moment. She gave me a blank look before the realization dawned on her.

"Because I wanted to be a Paladin," she answered, swiping her menu away. "So, before I knew it, I put half of them towards Vit. Of course, because of recent events, I'm gonna be more careful about them."

"Haah. Not even towards Strength?" I frowned, only remembering the Paladin class was some sort of warrior. Vel shook her head.

"Paladins use skills quite a bit. Strength would be nice, but Paladins are also the only warrior class that can heal. I... don't want to keep relying on people," my cousin explained. With a smug smile, she placed her hands on her hips and tilted her chin up high. "Plus, they're noble. Like knights."

Rolling my eyes, I smiled. "So about the Leedle Colons... I think, as long as I keep a bit of distance, I should be fine."

Velvet's eyes narrowed. "But your health—"

"It'll be fine. I equipped Tilia’s Talisman, so my health should be... better than before, so don't worry about it," I assured her. I took a breath. Remembering the three times I almost died today, I said my next few words hesitantly. "... I won't die that easily, anymore."

* * *

We used Rokoko teleport tickets to get to our destination. It was already late, and we didn't want to risk me dying. It was true that now I had five-hundred-fifteen health, but that didn't mean monsters would stop attacking me. Although I was level fifteen, my inexperience would still make me an easy target. How aggressive monsters usually work, is that they automatically try to attack any player below their level. Very few try to attack higher level players.

I tried to steady my feet on the ground, Velvet holding onto my shoulders. Teleporting via tickets was a bit different than through portals, almost worse. Maybe my experience was just terrible, as it seemed like Vel was completely fine.

"I hate teleporting," I complained, earning a not-so-well-hidden laugh from Vel. My vision was still adjusting from the pure white void of light that always flashed my vision.

"I'm sure you'll get used to it eventually," Velvet scoffed, walking with me to Rokoko Plain's teleport.

"I hope so," I muttered with a huff. She flashed me a mischievous smile as she forcibly dragged me with her into the teleport. Sucking in a quick breath I braced myself for another blinding sight, feeling Velvet's hold on my wrist disappear as well as the ground beneath me.

The moment I felt my feet on grass, I quickly said, "I hate you."

She burst into a fit of laughter, her voice ringing out joyfully. "Pfft, yeah, yeah. Love you too."

I grumbled to myself as she brought out her Claymore. Watching her movements, I looked at my own fingers. Imitating her, I pretended to grip onto something and then lashed out. I felt some sort of weight form in my hand, steadily growing as the pixels solidified into a blade. In mere seconds, I stared at my reflection in the short sword.

For a moment, I forgot the person in the reflection was me. I forgot for just a moment, that we were inside a game. A fake world full of fabricated avatars to represent ourselves, that was what this place was. I tore my eyes away from the blade, looking up to find Vel's eyes watching my movement. Her Claymore had a large black blade, a bit broader than my Short Sword.

"Is it heavier?" I asked. She looked up at me.

"Hm?"

"The Claymore. Is it heavier than my sword?" I repeated. She shrugged.

"Maybe. It deals more damage," she assumed, ready to attack. I looked behind her where scattered acorn-like monsters walked. Rokoko Plains was filled with four monsters. Leedle Colons, what I mentioned before, Hounds, Baums, and Pokes.

Hounds looked like wolves or hyenas with blood-like stained fur, as well as a strange brown horn in the middle of their forehead, the only thing separating their crimson eyes. Baums were just spooky looking, dead trees filled with murderous intent, with only a few withered leaves remaining on their branches. Pokes resembled a warthog, only much bigger in size with large, jagged teeth with bull horns matching in size.

I breathed out a sigh. In contrast to the scary looking monsters, the music was very calm and almost nostalgic to fit the scenery. The first notes heard is the soft strumming of a Nylon Guitar, the warm tune of a pan flute joining into the melody seconds later. The night sky had darkened the area, a cooler breeze passing through. The portal to Rokoko resides on top of a very gentle slope, the center column of the map clear without trees. It was called 'Rokoko Plains', but it wasn't like it was barren of greenery. In Mobile Iruna, I have fond memories of sitting atop a few trees due to a glitch. It was never fixed, so perhaps it was intentional.

Down the slope right next to the Rokoko portal was an almost field-like space. It was a large patch of soft dirt that sunk in a bit when you stepped into it. Colons spawned there often, Baums surrounding it.

"Shall we get started?" Velvet announced, approaching a Leedle Colon.

"Uh, sure. But, uh... how do you fight?" I asked. I watched other players fight monsters, but I hadn't actually fought any myself. I didn't know if there was a specific form you had to take.

I was completely new at something like this. I have never played a VR game in my life, not to mention any VRMMORPG. Maybe Vel has played a few before and has gotten used to the motions, but I definitely have not. I was an inside person my whole life. I was never good at sports, nor did I have any interest in them. I don't know how to use a sword. It was completely out of my expertise. The only experience I have is drawing and making alcoholic drinks which is utterly useless in a combat based game.

Even if I tried to imagine it, I was clueless when it came to actually wielding a weapon. How hard can you grip the sword before it returns to your inventory? Are you supposed to swing it a certain way? How do you know if you've actually dealt damage? Can I even deal damage, or am I so weak that all I'll do is miss?

"What do you mean?"

"Y'know... uh, actually fight? How do you do it," I tried to rephrase. Velvet only gave me a blank, confused look.

"You fight them."

"Yeah, but _how_?"

"I don't understand what you're asking, Sei."

"How do you... you know... fight...?" I slowly trailed off, flailing the sword in my hand gesturing it toward the curious Leedle Colon as if it would help her understand. Looking back up to her, she looked more at a loss than before, if that was even possible. The corners of her lips stretched out into a straight line, her gold eyes without any emotion as if she couldn't hear me. She blinked once, twice, and then turned toward the colon.

"You'll... figure it out eventually," she replied, raising the Claymore with both hands. She held it almost like a baseball bat, legs spread apart and pressing into the ground. I saw her draw in a breath, and then leap forward, swinging down the blade onto her target.

The Leedle Colon, who was more curious about how I was flailing my sword without care, had not expected Vel. It easily got hit, making a sad noise as its health bar appeared above it, drained just a bit of HP. I felt sorry for it. The awed face of the Leedle Colon had shifted to one of shock and then anger. The black and jagged carved mouth of the acorn monster shifted into a malicious smile, its carved eyes slanted and narrowed.

After slashing it again and dodging the Leedle Colon, she turned her head towards me. "You have to attack it, too, or else you won't get any EXP."

"Oh! Right." I gripped the sword in my hand, but not too tightly. Cautiously I stared at the Leedle Colon, still unsure of what to do. "How am I supposed to attack it?"

" _Oh my god_ , just—"

The Leedle Colon, now aware that I was in league with Vel, began to shift its attention to me. Its abyssal-like eyes had a strange glint at the realization I was a much easier target, and before I knew it, it leaped toward me.

"Sei!"

I automatically took a step back, tensing up and forcing my eyes closed. Unconsciously, I raised my hands to defend myself, momentarily forgetting about the sword I wielded. The moment a strong force seemed to collide with the blade, I immediately pushed back without a thought. Before I knew it, I had swung the short sword so hard, I threw the Leedle Colon away.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to the realization that I was the one who knocked the acorn monster onto its back, successfully deflecting it. It's health had barely gone down. Still frozen, I glanced up to the top eft of my vision. My health was still full, and I felt no pain. Somehow, I had managed to completely defend myself from its attack, and had not lost a single bit of my HP.

"... huh."

I looked back to the Leedle Colon's red bar of health above it. I didn't do nearly as much damage as Vel, but I did something. My eyes wavered to Vel for a moment, almost as surprised as I was, before she shook her head and looked back at me with a fierce expression.

"Don't just stand there, it's gonna attack again!"

"Oh, right," I remembered, returning my gaze to the acorn. Even more furious than before, it hopped back up onto its legs made of leaves. The Leedle Colon had seemed to completely forget about its anger toward Vel, and then came back to attack me.

With a newfound determination and ease with using my Short Sword, I slowly gained confidence about attacking. As the Leedle Colon hopped its way toward me, I charged forward with the sword raised.

" _Haaah!_ " I let out a breath, swinging down the metallic blade onto the acorn.

The impact caused the Leedle Colon to be pushed back just a bit. I immediately jumped backwards, distancing myself in case it retaliated. The monster's health lowered again, but not nearly enough to even make a difference. When I stepped back, Velvet leapt forward. Instead of slashing it normally, however, she jumped up a bit in the air. Pressing her strength into the Claymore, she forcibly brought it down onto the Leedle Colon instantly. A white-ish effect emitted from the place her blade clashed. I could feel a slight gust of air from her attack.

The Leedle Colon fell backwards, its body beginning to glow an angry red color before dispersing into maroon pixels and particles.

Slowly, I walked toward Vel as she approached the item left behind. She knelt, grasping the large acorn in her hand. I was shocked at the size; it was as big as a large strawberry. She tapped it, a small window carrying the item's information popping up.

"It's a sweet nut," she said, standing up. Vel turned to me and tossed it. I fumbled with it, afraid of dropping the acorn. After securing it in my hands, I looked up at her.

"I thought you said you kill them in six hits?"

"I can," my cousin shrugged, scanning the area for any more Leedle Colons. She flashed me a grin. "... of course, if I don't use Slash."

I sighed, rolling my eyes as the item in my hands returned to my inventory in a flurry of green particles. [Slash] is a skill warriors can use. I don't know the specifics myself, but I remember that it's an attack skill that deals much more damage than the player is normally capable.

"You better get your sword out again. Sweet Nuts sell for only twenty four Spina."

A groan escaped my lips as Vel let out a chuckle, charging forward to attack another Leedle Colon.

* * *

I pressed the confirm button, successfully selling almost all the drops I had gotten. We faught in Rokoko Plains for about twenty minutes, killing around fifty-five Leedle Colons. From all those Leedle Colons, I had gotten twenty-two [Sweet Nut], seventeen [Colon Skin], forty-three [Big Colon Leaf], and five [Ark Rods] with one being slotted. I sold all of them, except the slotted weapon, adding up to sixteen-hundred-eighty-one spina.

I sighed, the amount surprisingly lower than I thought. From the whole event, I had only leveled up barely one levels.

"Cheer up, we'll level you up some more later. Besides, you got a decent weapon now," Velvet said, patting my shoulder.

"I'm just worried I won't have enough spina. It's late, and I'm too tired to go another round," I explained, closing out of the shop's window.

"We could try Hotels in Bailune City," my cousin proposed. I only shook my head in reply.

"That would be cheapest, but also probably the busiest. With all the players here, I'm sure they have filled up quickly."

Velvet hummed to herself, her eyebrows a bit furrowed in thought. "Then, would you like to try staying here?"

I hesitated. "Rokoko is a city, so the spina for a night..."

"There's no harm in checking."

Resigning, I followed her as we walked around in search of a Hotel building in Rokoko City. Walking around at night, I realized just how big this map was. Because of all the events earlier, I didn't take the time to actually notice my surroundings. Most buildings had tough, wooden doors. We passed by the blacksmith, who had an exposed entrance to their workshop.

Letting my eyes travel up the building, I looked at the stars above. The map looked big, but all the buildings formed the walls of the map. When looking overhead, it was actually quite small. Taking a bit of time to think, I realize we were like guinea pigs stuck in a cage. We were experiments being tested on for the amusement of someone else.

"I think this is one," I heard Velvet say. I snapped out of my thoughts, following her as she pushed open dark double doors.

A small jingle of bells was heard when the doors had opened around halfway. The inside was similar to the lobbies in the real world, but less flashy. Surprisingly, the lobby was empty. There was a receptionists desk ahead of us with a single NPC operating it. When she noticed our presence, she looked up and smiled.

The receptionist NPC had lavender colored hair, cut extremely short with wavy bangs hanging to the side almost covering her left eye. She had soft, brownish tan eyes that reminded me of sand. The NPC stood behind the desk wearing a white long-sleeved blouse similar to my own work clothes.

"Hello there, what can I do for you?" she said. Her voice was tranquil and calm, yet there was still a slight cheeriness in it.

"We want to rent a room," Velvet spoke, approaching her. The NPC spared a glance toward me.

"Both of you?"

"Uh..." Velvet looked back at me as well. "Do you want to share a room?"

"Sure," I replied. Velvet nodded subtly, and then returned to face the lady.

"One room for both of us, please."

"For how many nights?"

"... just one," Velvet answered, a bit unsure. The NPC nodded, a window popping up between her and Vel.

"One night is two-hundred-fifty spina. If you decide to stay for seven in a row, you can pay fifteen-hundred spina instead," she explained. I looked over Velvet's shoulder to take a look at the screen.

**Rokoko Hotel**

**Nights Stayed:** « 1 night »

 **Weeks Stayed:** « 0 weeks »

 **Spina Payed:** [250 spina]

 **Spina Owned:** 6942 spina

 **Keys Requested:** « 2 keys »

« Confirm »

"Seven nights is almost all the spina I have," I nervously laughed. I watched as Velvet presses «Confirm», the window disappearing. On the desk, two card-like items appeared from white pixels.

"These are your [Key Card]s. You will not be able to sell them at a merchant, but you may be able to send them to other players. You may enter your assigned room at any time until the cards expire in your inventory."

She waved her hand to bring out our inventories. I jumped a bit, not knowing NPCs could bring them out on their own.

"You can find your [Key Card]s in the [Coin] section of your inventory, so they will not take up normal inventory space," she explained. The NPC slid the two cards forward for us to pick up. "Do you have any questions?"

"Nope, I think we're good. Thank you for the explanation," Vel cheerfully obliged, pressing out of the Key Card's item information window. I nodded at the receptionist, skipping behind Vel as she walked into a strange teleport.

The world flashed for a moment with a white light, and then I found myself standing with Vel. I doubted myself for a few seconds, unsure if I actually went through a teleport. I didn't get that dizzy feeling of the world shifting around me like the usual teleports.

Casually, Vel walked forward as if she knew what to do.

"Wait, Vel!" I called out. She stopped and turned to look at me over her shoulder.

"Hm?"

"How do we even... find our room?" I asked. She looked at me dumbly.

"Tap the card. It says where to go," she explained. I stared at her puzzled, looking down at the gray card I held between my fingers. Imitating what Vel did earlier, I tapped the card lightly, a small window popping up.

"Room 224 Key Card..." I read with narrowed eyes. "Walk to teleport in lobby, and locate your room. Hold the Key Card while entering room to be allowed access."

"Expiration in twenty-three hours and fifty-six minutes," Velvet finished, marching with extended legs. Skeptical, I looked back up at her.

"Room 224? How far is that?" I questioned. Velvet stopped abruptly, looking back at me with an irritated expression.

"Can't you read? The numbers are on the doors."

"Oh..." I looked to my right, the door near me reading 'Room 208'.

"My guess is that the teleports read the information on the cards and teleport to the level your room is at," Velvet walked, watching the doors carefully. She looked down the hallway. "Judging from how many rooms there seems to be, one level might have fifty rooms."

"Fifty..." I whispered to myself. The even numbers were on the right, odd on the left. Despite all the doors filling the long hallway, there was no sound. All I could hear was the footsteps of my cousin and I.

Curiously, I walked toward a random door and touched it, only to be repelled back by some force. I could only assume it was because I didn't have the right Key Card for that room.

"Found it," I heard Vel whisper. She stopped in front of one door, holding onto her Key Card. Quickly, she reached out to the door and twisted the circular knob. Pushing the wooden door, she easily entered without any resistance.

I stared through the doorway as she held the door expectantly.

"Oh! Sorry," I quickly muttered, entering the lit up room.

Hearing her close the door behind me, I analyzed the room. It wasn't that big, only one big room for a bed and another door to the side. With squinted eyes and furrowed eyebrows, I opened the door to see a bathroom. I was confused.

"You can use the bathroom?" I asked, mostly to myself.

"Hah?" I felt Velvet peer in next to me. The bathroom had only contained a single bath and a counter, a small mirror against the opposite wall.

"Oh, never mind... but why a bath?"

"I don't know," my cousin shrugged, walking away to examine the bed. I closed the door, walking over to the single window. It was dark because it was night, but I could see the center of Rokoko full of lights and players. If I waved, I wondered if a passing player would be able to spot me as well.

Shaking my head, I turned around to see Vel land herself on the bed in different clothes. I blinked.

"Surprisingly, it's not that bad," she said, spreading her arms and legs into a stretch.

"What are you wearing? And how did you get those clothes?" I asked. Vel looked up at me, perplexed.

Instead of the Leather Armor she had been wearing before, she wore a loose nightgown. It was a pale red, thin straps so close to falling off her bare shoulders. The dress rode up her back just a bit, revealing her dark and desaturated purple shorts.

"Hm? What clothes?"

"The pajamas," I pointed out. She paused for a moment, before her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh yeah! You don't know!" My cousin suddenly exclaimed. I only stared, a bewildered expression upon my face. She stood up, patting the nightgown to straighten it, and then walked over to me. "Take out your menu."

Reluctantly, I obeyed, bringing in my point and middle finger.

"Character. Equipment," she instructed. Following, I stared cluelessly. "Keep tapping the arrows until you get to [Body]."

I only needed to press the right arrow once. In the [Body] category of equipment, I saw the Adventures' Garb that I wore. Below it, was something called [Sleepwear 1].

"How come I didn't see this in my inventory?"

"Because it's in the Coin section of your inventory, not your Equipment," she remarked, rolling her eyes playfully. I equipped the sleepwear, closing out of my menu. The Adventurers' Garb I wore turned white and dispersed into green particles, a new set of clothing appearing in its place. Similar to Vel's nightgown design, it was a loose pale green dress that ended just below my mid-thigh. I could barely see the ends of the dark green shorts beneath.

"Doesn't it feel much more comfortable?" Vel asked, proudly crossing her arms in front of her.

"..." I placed my palms on my exposed shoulders, pressing my lips tightly together. "I feel so bare."

Vel sighed, throwing herself back onto the bed. The room itself was pretty plain. The walls were an extremely light tan, the carpeted floor a dark mahogany color. The whole bedroom was shaped in a giant square, around twelve feet on each side. The wider queen sized bed, which had a white bedsheet accompanied by chocolate brown blankets and pillows, took a bit less than half of the bedroom's space. Facing the entrance door, the bathroom door was to my left. The bed had a three foot distance between the wall and window behind me, a small bedside table with a lamp on top in the corner to my right.

Judging from how much space it left between the door and itself, the bed was maybe just a bit more than five feet wide. Next to the entrance door was a large, dresser-like object. Curiously, I walked over to it to examine it further. It looked like a ordinary dresser with tabs to pull in and out of to fill with clothing. Only, if I tugged on the knobs, they wouldn't budge.

"What is this thing? Just for decoration?" I asked. I felt Velvet stand next to me. A few seconds later, she reached over and tapped a small button on the dresser, a window popping up.

"It's a storage," Vel said, ushering me to look over. The window jogged my memory just a bit, remembering the storage the merchants had in Mobile Iruna. If you paid for it in the Iruna Store, one storage could hold one-hundred items. This storage could hold twenty-five.

"A hotel room is more useful than I thought. Maybe I'll buy more nights," Vel hummed to herself, closing out of the window. "I mean, 250 spina per night isn't that bad."

"Speak for yourself. I'm the one who's broke," I laughed, walking back to the window. With a sigh, I sat on the bed. I flopped onto my back, stretching my arms while looking at the white ceiling. It was quiet now. In Rokoko City, there was music mixed with people's voices but in the hotel it was dead silent. It was almost comforting in a way, helped me think. Made me think it wasn't a game, just for a few seconds.

I frowned to myself. Game. I shifted to my side, pushing myself off the bed to turn to the lamp.

"I'm gonna turn off the light," I warned.

"Ok, it's late anyway." I searched under the lampshade, only to find no such switch to turn on or off. "... I'm sure you realized this by now, but things you normally do in the real world won't exactly apply here."

"Sorry, I'm still new at this." Remembering what Vel did whenever examining objects in Iruna, I tapped on the lampshade, a window appearing in front of me. It was a horizontal slider with a button on the beginning and end of the slider. Experimentally, I dragged the slider back and forth. The light that filled the room shifted between bright and dark. After figuring out that the left button turned the light off and vice versa, I touched the left button and exited out of the screen.

The room was dark now, only a bit of light coming through the window. I exhaled a sigh, before falling onto the bed. The pillow was much softer than I thought, my face sinking into it immediately. I pressed my face in deeper, finding it harder to breathe.

What's worse in this game, is that no matter how long you may be underwater or suffocating in a pillow, you will never lose health from that. The only way to lose health was by getting attacked. I noticed that earlier when I was being drowned that I was only losing health when the Brosch hit me. However, my health didn't slowly drain when I was choking on water and held under for so long I couldn't breathe. I lost health in uneven amounts with a slight delay. If I was loosing health from suffocation, it would have steadily drained without delay.

I guess that's what scares me the most about being trapped in here. It's much scarier being held underwater constantly gasping for air, than getting painfully slashed by a weapon once.

I let a shaky sigh escape me before turning my head away from the pillow. My fingers dug into the fluffy object as I closed my eyes with a slightly faster heartbeat. I felt a shift in the bed, most likely Vel laying on the bed next to me.

"A lot... happened today," I heard her quietly say. I shoved my face back into the pillow, and then turned to look at her. She was staring up at the ceiling. It was dark, but I could still see her half-lidded golden eyes.

"... yeah," was all I could reply. Her eyes turned to meet mine. She shifted her body to her side to face me. There was a calm, unreadable expression on her face before she broke out into a smile.

"This reminds me of how we used to have sleepovers all the time when we were kids," she murmured, pressing her cheek into the dark pillow. "It's been years since we last had one."

I only nodded in reply. We hadn't hung out like this in years, even though it's through a virtual simulation. The last time we actually spent time together in person was probably... back when she graduated high school. When we threw that party, me and her friends and her little sister at the time. After that, it was just texts and messages and the occasional update with calls and pictures.

"It's funny. I was so... upset earlier, but now I feel..." she trailed off, unsure of exactly how she felt. Vel blinked, shaking her head slightly before continuing, "Despite all the things that happened today, I guess it's not that bad."

Another laugh. "I wonder if it's because we're stuck here together?" She wondered aloud.

"Mm... I don't think I would have cared what happened if I was alone," I concluded. She laughed quietly to herself.

"You were always like that. Neutral, not really caring either way," she said absentmindedly, rolling the eyes that were seemingly struggling to stay open. I hummed to myself, pressing my face deeper into the pillow again.

"I think you would've done fine even if you were alone. You have always been strong, and would survive somehow in your own way," I said. She lifted an eyebrow incredulously.

"Really? You think too high of me."

"Ha ha. I don't know. I've always thought that you were... strong..." A yawn. "I'm tired, haha."

She yawned as well. "Dammit, those contagious yawns."

I laughed, my eyes suddenly feeling heavier than before.

Despite being trapped in this game, I suppose I still have a reason to go on. A reason to move forward. I might not be a noob anymore, but I still gotta learn to fight better. To get better gear and experience to actually last a day on my own. This game won't end by itself, and if I can help get her out of here...

I let my eyes close as sleep fell upon me.

... as long as she can get out of here, I'll keep trying.

**Author's Note:**

> To read the old version, go to this link: https://my.w.tt/3S7RD1mWM3


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